my first time

So yeah, I've never really painted before, and yeah I don't really consider myself an artist, but did that stop me from coming out to GG for three weeks to learn about and create art? no. And i'm glad it didn't. I was a little afraid that I might not live up to the lofty expectations of the Guildmasters or other artists, and maybe I didn't have an artistic bone in my body, but I do love to create and the process brings me a peace and wholeness that I can't describe.

So I felt a little guilty that Justin had to start at the basics with me in drawing and color before we could get our hands on some brushes. When we finally did get brushes in our hands and had practiced a little with the paints and mediums Rich set us up with a still life and put a HUGE blank canvas in front of us. I was frozen with terror. He said to start putting paint on the canvas right away and get the general colors of our composition on there. OH MAN! I don't think i've ever been so intimidated by an inanimate object! But with the support and encouragement of a great artist (two including Justin) I began to put my brush to work.

As we worked Rich began painting a new composition over one of his old pieces that he had decided didn't work. The confidence with which he layer on paint over paint, letting the idea come toward him from the canvas gave me courage that my painting too can be ever-changing. I liked my composition, and my subject was special to me...so I really got drawn into what I was doing.

I love working on the painting for over a week and while there's not a lot happening on my canvas, I worked on each part or piece at least twice before finally leaving it alone. The whole time it was as if I was learning a new way to see things...as if I was seeing beyond what was in front of me and learning to reinterpret that as a representation on my canvas. I learned more about coloring, shadow, space, texture and feeling than I ever knew was there. At one point I had a pepto-bismol pink background and couldn't figure out how I was going to get it to look like fabric. Rich got really creative with some hunter-reflective orange paint and although i'm sure he's right and it does work....I could never see it. Once I changed my background to a color that I liked, I was able to play with technique and color until I saw my vision appear on my canvas. It was awesome.

I'm still not over my fear of a blank canvas...that's still as intimidating as it is exciting. At one point Rich had to give me a deadline and said that every inch of the canvas had to be covered in paint by the end of the day. And I still look at my piece knowing that there are things i'd like to do it it, and that it's not a masterful work of art, but darn it I don't think I did half-bad for my first time! And to me it represents a new love. It was a process that i'll never forget, and one that I want to repeat many times over. Through this painting i've learned to see differently...everything. I have more of an appreciation for the process of making art, rather than being quick to judge a piece on the value of it's end product.